


the art of charting the stars

by emrysthewarlock



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Misunderstandings, Post-Canon, Sharing a Bed, Southern Water Tribe, Stargazing, and the fire nation, i made up lore for the water tribe, idiots to lovers, they are idiots but it all works out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24823582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emrysthewarlock/pseuds/emrysthewarlock
Summary: Sokka just grins and shrugs, elbowing Zuko gently in the side. They stay on the roof tracing patterns in the sky until the sun begins to rise and drown out the heavens in its light. When they climb down from the roof, Sokka still holding out his hand to help Zuko, Zuko realizes he hasn’t thought about work at all.(A post-canon fic where Ambassador Sokka and Fire Lord Zuko write each other letters and watch the stars.)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 209
Kudos: 1803





	the art of charting the stars

**Author's Note:**

> before we begin, some songs that i think could ~enhance~ your experience :)  
> close to you, rihanna (recommended by a lovely commenter!!)  
> long & lost, florence + the machine  
> someone to stay, vancouver sleep clinic  
> i of the storm, of monsters and men  
> medicine, the 1975  
> you are in love, taylor swift  
> chasing cars, snow patrol  
> i'm on fire, soccer mommy (recced by a commenter!!)  
> felt like home, teen blush (also by a lovely commenter!)
> 
> i hope you enjoy!

It isn’t until Zuko is sat at his desk, papers piled around him, when he realizes that being the Fire Lord is painfully lonely. 

His hands clutch the brush as he drafts a new set of economic regulations because it’s been two years since the war ended and there are still people, leagues away, feeling the pains of a war-torn nation. Because of his family. 

And he has to do it all _himself_.

Uncle is in Ba Sing Se, establishing his tea shop once more. Sokka is traveling the waters, helping the Southern Water Tribe rebuild. Aang, Katara, and Toph were moving around the Earth Kingdom to check on reparation efforts. How could Zuko call any of them away, to help him? How could he draw them away from the messes _he_ had a hand in making?

This is something he has to do alone. He doesn’t mind, not really. But it is times like these, when the candle at his desk burns low and the room is silent save for his own breathing, that he thinks he would like to have someone there with him.

A knock on his door disrupts him from his thoughts. “Come in,” he calls, placing his brush down in the tray and carefully moving the latest draft of his new tax policy to the side to let it dry. One of his messengers enters the room with a bowed head.

(The bows have never stopped being uncomfortable. Zuko has never felt as though he was worthy of it, and despite constant requests for his servants to cease, they still do it. He hates it, a little. It reminds him of the way his father was cruel and relentless, even to his own people.)

“My lord,” the messenger says, presenting a rolled parchment. “This just came for you, from the Southern Water Tribe.”

_Southern Water Tribe?_

Zuko grasps the paper uncertainly. “Thank you,” he murmurs, staring at the roll. “That will be all.”

The messenger bows once more and exits, leaving Zuko to wonder what on earth he had done to warrant a letter from the Southern Water Tribe. Was something wrong with the Accords? Were the ambassadors he had sent not doing a proper job helping rebuild the city? 

He unrolls the paper, smooths it down, and reads.

_To the grumpiest Fire Lord there is,_

_Hello! Sokka, here._

_Hah, you had to know I would never let you live that one down. You were so_ awkward _. You still are, not going to lie, but you have grown and I can give you credit for that._

_I guess you’re probably wondering why the heck I’m writing to you,_

_Well, fun fact, it is a few weeks away from the two year anniversary of the end of the war. Not that I think you don’t know that. That’s probably the one date you actually remember. Aang and Katara thought it would be a good idea to hold some kind of festival in the Fire Nation, along with an ambassador meeting to check in on how everyone’s rebuilding efforts are going. Toph thought it would be pretty fun, too. She wants to promote her new metalbending school, I think. Aang said the festival would help “promote unity and peace” or something like that. You know, just Avatar things._

_So I’m writing to inform you about these plans. Oh, also, you don’t really have a choice because Aang and Katara are a scary and unstoppable force and even I’m a little afraid of them. Also, we want to see you again, so we can make sure your frown lines aren’t getting too permanent._

_Anyways, be prepared to house the four of us in a couple of days! We need to talk out some plans with you,_

_Don’t take yourself too seriously, jerk._

_Your favorite ambassador,_

_Sokka_

The letter is… a surprise, to say the least. Zuko isn’t used to getting letters from their friends, other than random missives from Aang detailing his adventures coupled with a sentence or two about his advancements in the Earth Kingdom. Sokka doesn’t write, usually, instead delegating to one of the trainees Zuko knows he has working for him. 

Now, though, he’s holding a paper that is filled with Sokka’s scrawling handwriting, smudged on the edges like he was writing too fast for his hand to keep up. He laughs, a little, at the thought of Aang and Katara bullying him into setting up a party. He wonders, also, why it was Sokka that sent the letter.

He should write back, right? That’s the normal thing to do. To write back and say that yes, he would be honored to have them all stay in the palace because it’s been too long since he’s had company that wasn’t focused on work. _Not that it would matter if I agree,_ he thinks and lets out a huff as he smiles. _Seems like they would just come anyway_.

That stubbornness is kind of what he misses most.

He places the letter at the edge of his desk and grabs another paper and his brush. As he lifts it to write, he stops and ink threatens to drip on the paper as he stares at the blank page and dark ink and wonders what, exactly, he is supposed to write.

_I should start with a hello_ , he thinks. _That’s what people normally do. Right?_

Still, he isn’t sure what exactly to say. Words have never come easy to him. Sokka’s letter sounds just like him, rambling and excited but it all makes sense. Zuko doesn’t know how to do that.

_Just start_ . He breathes in. Out. _It’s just a letter_.

_Sokka,_

_I’m not sure how to take the “grumpiest Fire Lord” comment. Have you forgotten my father? Or Sozin, who literally started the war? I would say they were a lot grumpier than I am._

_Speaking of the war, I think it would be a great idea to have a festival as well as a summit to discuss progress. Even two years later, there is still a lot to do, and I think it would be reassuring for people to hear how far you all have come._

_It will also be nice to see everyone again. It’s been too long._

_See you in a couple days._

_The least grumpy fire lord,_

_Zuko_

He reads the letter. He reads it again. _It sounds pretty okay_ . Were the words too forced? Zuko squints at the paper again, before letting out a groan and sliding down in his seat. This is why he doesn’t do things like this. He’s no _good_ at it.

But Sokka sent him a letter.

And he probably expects one back.

So he rolls it up and ties it shut without another thought, reminding himself to have it sent out in the morning. He picks up Sokka’s letter again, carefully holding the edges so as not to crease it. He probably doesn’t need to keep it. It’s just a little information dump, a way for Zuko to know what’s happening. There’s no reason to hold onto it, not when he already has penned a response and everyone will be here in a couple days anyways.

Still, he finds himself carefully folding the paper and placing it inside one of his empty drawers. He tries not to think too much about why he keeps it. He goes to sleep thinking of Sokka’s face and feeling a strange warmth in his stomach as he thinks of getting to see his smile in person again.

There’s no time to dwell on that feeling before he falls asleep. 

\---

_To the most grumpy non-evil fire lord (trust me, I know these things),_

_You wrote me back!!_

_I was not expecting a letter, to be one hundred percent honest. I was expecting you to bring it up in conversation when I came and visited, but you wrote back. I joke, but it actually does make me pretty happy._

_As you can see, I amended my introduction. You are the grumpiest, yet least threatening, Fire Lord to ever exist. Don’t fight me on this._

_It was nice to see you at the festival. At least I had someone else to complain about when Katara and Aang start to act all sappy. Just be blessed that you don’t have to see it more often. Trust me, it’s the worst._

_There was something you said in your last letter that got me thinking. I wanted to say something to you when I saw you, but I wasn’t really sure how to say it. You said that the summit would be nice so that people could see how far “you all” have come. I bet you thought you could slip that past me, huh. Well, Sokka’s instincts are unbeatable._

_It isn’t just us that’s making progress, Zuko. You’re dismantling a system that has been corrupt for one hundred years. It isn’t something that can be fixed overnight. You’ve already decolonized most of the Earth Kingdom, and you’ve helped fund reconstruction. You hold meetings where citizens can tell you about the struggles they face so you can try and fix them. You’ve halted the taxes on the poorer citizens, allowing them to really breathe for the first time in years._

_I know it’s slower than you want it to go, but it’s still going! This is going to take time. You’re doing an amazing job, and everyone at the summit last weekend sure thought so. You are making progress, I promise._

_In other news, I arrived back at the Southern Water Tribe today and guess what I saw: a penguin seal migration. It was so stupid, everyone was so excited and made me join them in watching a bunch of penguin seals waddle across the ice, when I definitely had stuff I had to do. Also, one bit me! At the same time, though, it was kind of neat. It makes you wonder, where are they all going? What urges them to all move together like that, on the same day every year?_

_Anyways, that’s enough from me._

_You better write me back! I didn’t talk to you about penguin seals just to be left hanging._

_Certified penguin seal expert and philosopher,_

_Sokka_

Zuko reads the letter over and over again, ingraining the words into his brain. He had just seen Sokka a couple of days ago, at the conclusion of the festival, but he had found that he already missed him. It was… weird. Zuko isn’t used to missing people like that, not used to the thrill of excitement he got when he told Sokka there would be a letter waiting for him when he got back, and Sokka’s face damn near brightened into the sun. 

He finds himself tracing his fingers over the sentences, repeating the words _you are making progress_ until they start to stick. Of course it would be Sokka who would notice just how overwhelmed he is by all this, and of course it would be Sokka to say something so heartfelt only to follow it up with a stupid story about penguin seals.

Zuko is happy. More than he’s been in a while.

He tucks away the letter in his drawer with the previous one and busies himself with penning a response. For once, the tension that constantly creeps in his shoulders and forehead is absent, replaced with a smile and eagerness he has not felt in a very long time. 

\--- 

It goes like this. 

_Zuko,_

_I think my favorite misconception is that everyone seems to think you’re this all-powerful, intimidating guy. Whenever I travel somewhere they always say, “you know Fire Lord Zuko?” with this super shocked look on their face like I could literally invoke your presence and they would fall to their knees in awe. It makes me want to laugh, because I think about how you cooked us dinner and made us terrible tea, and how you spent days after we saw that one play on Ember Island criticizing it (Zuko, it was bad but it wasn’t_ that _bad). I think about how you tell stupid jokes and have definitely tripped over your own feet at least twice in my presence._

_You are probably the least intimidating person I know. And I know Aang!_

_When are you visiting the South Pole? Don’t just brood in your palace all the time!_

_Sokka_

And this. 

_Sokka,_

_I can be intimidating! What about when I was trying to capture you guys? Maybe I shouldn’t be bringing it up, but I thought I was decently intimidating._

_Also, I can’t visit for a while. We’re working on new school curriculums to undo all the propaganda put in place during the war and I need to be here for it. I have meetings for nearly the entirety of the next two months._

_A very intimidating Fire Lord,_

_Zuko_

  
  


And also this. 

_Zuko, the stupidest, hardest worker I know,_

_What do you_ mean _you have meetings for the next two months? That’s crazy! Here, I’m coming up to visit in a week or so. If it’s as much work as you say it is, I think you should have someone there to help you. And I can also offer some input as to what to teach for the Water Tribe portion of the curriculum_

_Also, intimidating? Nah. More of a mild inconvenience._

_An unimpressed ambassador,_

_Sokka_

Sokka arrives on the steps of the Fire Nation palace in his blue robes looking at ease and the first thing Zuko says when he catches sight of him is, “I am intimidating!” 

Sokka just throws his head back and laughs, and Zuko feels like he’s looking into the brightest constellation in the sky. 

\---

Sokka is, honestly, a lifesaver during these negotiations. Every day is a blur of meetings, each advisor and citizen bringing their own ideas as to what to incorporate into the school curriculum, leaving Zuko to stare at hundreds of proposals and try and figure out how to utilize most of them. Sokka has taken to snatching a few plans from Zuko’s desk and sorting through them, placing ones he finds doable back on the desk and tucking the others away. 

“You tend to work until the dark circles under your eyes look just like a badger mole’s,” Sokka explains to him when Zuko asks why he’s taken on this task. “Someone needs to make sure you don’t try and do it all.”

It’s a simple sentiment but it makes Zuko feel warm down through the tips of his fingers and he catches himself smiling as he takes another piece of paper from the stack. He knows Sokka can’t stay forever, but having him _here_ makes being Fire Lord a much less lonely job. 

It’s one of the hottest days of the summer, a rotating fan lightly stirring the stifling air, and they work in silence in the throne room as usual. Zuko sits on the floor at the table used for meetings and Sokka lounges lazily on the throne, fanning himself with the proposal he was reading.

The heat doesn’t bother Zuko, really, as he loses himself in documents. _No, we don’t have room to teach about the impact of the war on Fire Nation cuisine in the core curriculum. Unless we can combine it into a much larger class? The impact of the war on Fire Nation culture? We can talk about propaganda, the outlawing of dances and festivals, getting rid of anything that borrowed from other nations…_

“-uko? Zuko!” 

Zuko jolts in place as his mind tunes back into the present, where Sokka is waving at him impatiently from the throne.

“What?” he asks, jotting down a few notes in red before turning to the other. 

“I’m _bored_.”

Zuko rolls his eyes. “Okay. You don’t have to be here, you know. You can go out into the city or something.”

“No.” Sokka tosses a rolled-up parchment at him that lands softly at the ground where he sits. “Do something with me.”

Zuko gestures at the papers piled around him. “I promised I would have a draft for a new secondary school curriculum by the end of the week. I can’t take a break yet.” 

Sokka finally peels himself off the throne and makes his way down to the table. “Zuko, you’ve been working on this for almost a week without rest! Come on, it’s too hot in here. Let’s go swimming.” 

“I can’t, Sokka.” Zuko rubs the bridge of his nose, a tension headache starting to build and stretch across his forehead. “There’s too much to do right now.” 

“There’s always going to be things to do.” The Water Tribe man grabs the paper Zuko had been writing on and waves it at him. “You’ve already done a lot!” 

“I can’t-”

“You need to stop working yourself to death. Yes, there’s damage to fix, but that doesn’t mean you have to fix it all at once-”

“Stop!” 

Zuko feels a familiar rush of anger course through his veins as his inner flame flares up, too easily becoming reliant on rage and frustration again. He tamps it down and tries to control his breaths as he feels the weight of Sokka’s gaze on his face. 

He feels so _angry_. Not at Sokka. At himself. But he’s still not the best with knowing where to direct that rage so it spills out of him until the only thing holding him together is a sense of fear and overwhelming anxiety that he doesn’t know how to deal with. “You don’t get it,” he snaps, snatching the paper from Sokka. “This is important. I can’t be like you, traveling around and having fun, going swimming whenever you feel like it. I have things to do.”

There’s a heavy silence between them as Zuko pretends to read the documents and not pay attention to Sokka’s _glare_. 

“Whatever, asshole,” Sokka finally says as he brushes past Zuko to the exit of the throne room. “If you want to drive yourself to an early death, be my guest.” He pauses at the doorway, turning back for a second. “You know, maybe you wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed if you actually let your friends _help_ you.” 

He’s gone in the next instant and Zuko feels like every inch of his skin has been set alight with ice cold fire, burning and freezing all at the same time. He clutches the paper in his grasp so tightly that it tears at the edges. 

Zuko lets it go and it drifts back down to the table to settle among the stacks of papers. It’s… so much. He drops his head into his hands, pressing his palms into his eyes to try and relieve the pressure building there because this is all too much and he just drove off the one person who has been keeping him sane. 

_Stupid,_ he thinks as tears begin to prickle his eyes for the first time in years. _All you do is ruin everything good that comes in your life_. 

_I don’t have time for this_ , he reminds himself, swiping his palms against his eyes in case any tears escaped. He has 100 years of damage to overturn, he can’t afford to get lost in self-pity and anxiety. He ignores the guilt and tension in the pit of his stomach and turns his attention back to the papers, trying to remember where he had last been in his train of thought. 

It’s a fruitless endeavor. His head is still swimming and suddenly the room feels unbearably _hot,_ but there is a chill that travels up and down his spine. He can’t ignore the stress the way normally does and suddenly everything feels too close and too much, his skin prickling and his scar burning.

He stumbles to his feet because the room is stifling and the sight of the throne just makes his heart pound _faster_ in his chest. He pushes through the curtain into the hallways beyond where a guard standing outside asks him something but his ears are buzzing too much for him to comprehend what exactly he’s saying and then there’s a hand on his arm and the last thing he thinks before everything goes too dark is _I can’t do this anymore_. 

\--- 

Zuko dimly starts to become aware of consciousness, blinking his eyes to escape drowsiness. His blankets are soft on top of him and the lighting in the room is dim, coming only from starlight outside the windows.

_Why am I in my bed?_

He sits upright as the memories of what happened break whatever barrier was holding them back and rush into his head. He had _passed out_ ? How ridiculous was that? _Okay_ , he thinks, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. _I didn’t get to finish that batch of culture curriculum, I can go get the papers from the throne room and I can finish that right now-_

“Nope. Nuh-uh,” a voice startles Zuko out of his thoughts as his feet make connection with the cool ground. He turns around to see Sokka leaning against the entrance to his rooms, an unimpressed look on his face. “Get back in bed.”

“Sokka?” He twists his hands in the blanket as guilt runs through his body, settling uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach. “I thought you… left.”

“I was in the city,” Sokka explains, pushing himself off of the doorframe to make his way to the bed. “And then I came back to try and talk some sense into you again only for the healers to tell me you _passed out_ from overexertion.”

“Oh.” His fingers are still tangled in the blankets. His ears burn and he just feels so… _ashamed_. 

Sokka sighs and then there are warm hands on his forearms gently pulling him up from the bed. “Will you come somewhere with me?” Sokka asks, his eyes bright and blue and Zuko just nods mutely because how is he supposed to say _no_?

So, with warm fingers on his arms, he’s led out of his bedroom and through hallways and up staircases until they come to a window on the top floor that Sokka crawls out of, offering a hand for Zuko to follow. He lets himself be pulled out of the palace and into the warm night and very nearly stops in his tracks when he takes in the sight before him.

They’re on one of the topmost levels of the palace, red tiled roofing bumpy under his feet, overlooking the capital city. Lights from houses twinkle on and off, lanterns illuminating the houses. Above the city stretches the clearest night sky, all patterned with glowing stars and a full, pale moon gleaming down from above. 

“This is… this is incredible,” he says, turning around to see Sokka already sitting on the roof. He pats the space beside him, and Zuko hesitantly takes a seat. A dry, warm breeze lifts the edges of his hair off from the back of his neck as he draws his knees to his chest and sits in silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Sokka staring at the moon, a strange expression on his face.

“Do you miss her?” he asks and then winces because what kind of a _stupid_ question was that? Agni, he really is bad at conversation. That wasn’t much better than “that’s rough, buddy.”

“Yeah.” The wistful look on Sokka’s face melts into something softer as he glances over at Zuko. “I miss her a lot. I’ll always miss her. But I also know, now, that I have other people I love, other friends that I can rely on, so I’ve come to peace with everything.”

There’s an accusation there, but Zuko ignores it. “Like Suki?”

Sokka shrugs. “We broke up a couple months ago. She’s still a good friend of mine, and will always be, but I don’t think we were meant to be with each other forever.” 

“You never told me in your letters,” Zuko says and Sokka shrugs again but this time there’s a sheepish expression on his face.

“I didn’t think you would want to hear me whining about that.” He laughs but it sounds forced.

“I want to hear it,” Zuko finds himself saying truthfully. “I mean… we’re friends, right?”

Their knees touch, briefly. “We are friends,” Sokka says meaningfully. “Which is why I’m here. It’s why I’m trying not to let you work yourself to death.”

Zuko’s ears burn again. He wraps his arms around his knees until he can rest his chin on them and stares up at the stars instead of Sokka.

“We all really care about you. Me, Aang, Katara, Toph, all of us. And it’s _really_ hard to see someone you care about go through so much pain and not let you take some of it off their shoulders. I want to be there for you, Zuko. Can you let me?”

He rests a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. It’s a grounding and comforting touch and Zuko leans into it unintentionally. There’s something about the summer breeze, the full moon, and the way that Sokka is looking at him that makes him feel, for once, that it’s okay not to be in control. “Okay,” he whispers, glancing over at Sokka. 

The smile Sokka gives him almost outshines the moon.

“There’s something I used to do whenever I got overwhelmed and couldn’t sleep,” Sokka says. He points at the starry sky and Zuko watches his slender finger draw patterns in the sky. “I would make new constellations for myself in the stars. See?” He takes Zuko’s hand in his and draws a pattern in the sky. Zuko is barely watching what he’s drawing, instead too caught up in the gentleness of the touch and how badly he’s missed _this_. Missed having someone nearby. 

“That’s the Water Tribe symbol,” Sokka says, letting Zuko’s hand go. 

Zuko squints at the stars and then points out his own. “The Fire Nation symbol,” he says, tracing the points between stars. 

“There’s Momo.” Sokka traces another pattern. “See? This isn’t so hard, is it?”

Zuko knows he’s talking about more than just the constellations. “No.” He rubs the back of his neck as his ears burn again. “It’s not that bad. Um. Thank you. And… I’m sorry.”

Sokka just grins and shrugs, elbowing Zuko gently in the side. They stay on the roof tracing patterns in the sky until the sun begins to rise and drown out the heavens in its light. When they climb down from the roof, Sokka still holding out his hand to help Zuko down, Zuko realizes he hasn’t thought about work at all. 

\---

  
  


_Sokka,_

_Tell your grandmother thank you for the seal jerky from me. I’ve had to hide it so Mai doesn’t steal it. I swear, you bring in food from other nations and the Fire Nation goes_ crazy _. It’s probably a result of one hundred years of oversaturation of Fire Nation culture._

_Speaking of, the curriculum I drafted passed. I know it’s such a small thing and there is still so much progress to be made, but I can’t help but feel… proud. I think that’s the right word. It’s a nice feeling. My advisors are going to work on implementing it and editing it, which means I can take a couple of days off before tackling the next thing. It feels weird to take a break, but I think you would approve. I think I might visit Uncle in Ba Sing Se. I miss him._

_I was on the roof watching the stars and I saw a meteor shower. It reminded me of you, and your sword. I’ll try and see if the Fire Sages know when the next one is, and maybe we can watch it together. If you’re not busy or anything. Actually, maybe that’s stupid. Never mind._

_How are things in the Southern Water Tribe?_

_Sincerely,_

_Zuko_

_P.S. One of the turtleducks in the pond had babies yesterday! One is very loud and likes to mess around with the others. I named him Sokka._

_The rudest firebender I know,_

_Okay. Ouch! Well, the penguin seals are going to have babies soon and I know for a fact that I’m going to find the most awkward one and name it Zuko. Payback._

_But, seriously, in other news, you should be really proud of yourself. It’s really amazing that you did that curriculum plan and your break is going to be well deserved. Say hello to Iroh for me! Also, if you can send some tea that would be much appreciated. Water Tribe tea just… isn’t known for being amazing. Consider it payment for Gran Gran’s seal jerky (she says you’re welcome, by the way, and also that you should eat more)._

_I’ve been keeping track of constellations too. Lately, I’ve been taking my canoe out at night and laying down to watch the stars. The sky is so clear in the South Pole, Zuko. The stars are just brighter, just a little more brilliant, and you feel so small, but in a comforting way. Reassuring, almost. You would love it. Please, please, tell me when the next meteor shower is! Maybe we can track it down and make me a new space sword._

_Not to be sappy, suddenly, but I was thinking about how far we all have come the other night when I was looking up at the stars, and I thought of you. Zuko, I need to tell you how proud I am of you. You’ve grown so much and you’ve overcome so much, and now you’re actually the kindest, strongest person I know. I can imagine your face right now, so I’m going to clarify. Yes. Kindest. You aren’t the best at words or overt actions sometimes and you are_ very _awkward (I’m hoping that will never change) but you put others' needs before your own like it’s second nature. Sometimes I think about the angry sixteen-year-old who chased us around the planet and contrasted it with who you are now, a twenty-three year old Fire Lord who puts his people and family first,_ always _. Your people love you, Zuko. When I was in the town, back when I visited, all I heard was people saying how grateful they were for you for all the reforms you were doing._

_Maybe that is too sappy, but it’s true. I’ve been very melancholic lately, but I would blame it on my dad. He’s been extra weird lately, saying things about true love and me finding “the one”. It’s throwing me off, dude._

_Write me back soon._

_Also, sincerely? What are you, 85?_

_Your friend,_

_Sokka_

  
  


_Sokka,_

_How is it that you are so good with words? Whenever I write a letter, I spend hours agonizing over each sentence, wondering if it’s too abrupt or too formal, too “awkward,” as you would say. But you just write me a letter without a second thought that makes me feel like I’m watching the meteor shower all over again._

_See? I physically felt myself cringing while writing that line, but I think you would appreciate it so I did it anyway. You’re welcome._

_It was a stupid thing to write, but, honestly, it’s true. I read your letter over and over again until I could practically recite the words from memory. I just imagine you, laying in your boat and looking up at the stars, penning a letter to me. Me! I don’t know what I ever did that made me so worthy of your kindness, but I will spend my whole life trying to figure out how to make sure I do deserve it. You have always seemed so confident, so in control, to me and I want to say that I have admired you for years. The Boiling Rock was the first time I really got a chance to work with you and I remember thinking that I would follow your lead no matter what._

_You haven’t led me off a cliff yet, so I think I’ll keep following your lead for a bit more._

_The Fire Sages are calculating the next meteor date. I’ll let you know when it is._

_Sincerely (because this is the way my advisors told me I should end all letters),_

_Zuko_

  
  


_Zuko,_

_My father told me the weirdest news today, and I really need to get my feelings about it off my chest. I’m not sure if you remember, but my dad’s best friend is Bato. We found him in prison after the comet, and he and my dad went back to the Southern Water Tribe to help rebuild._

_Today, my dad told me that they’re more than friends. Have been for a while, apparently, since the end of the war, and they’re planning on getting married. I guess all the lovesick things he has been saying make a lot more sense now. And, I don’t know, something about it is so hard for me to wrap my head around. It’s not that I think he’s disrespecting Mom or anything, because it’s been years and I know he would never forget her even if he moves on, but I never expected his next love would be a_ guy. 

_I need to tell you something. It’s not that I think what my dad is doing is weird. I’m just surprised? Because I like guys too. I have for a while. And I never talked about it because I just assumed it was one of those “don’t ask, don’t tell” things but now my dad likes guys too? Should I tell him? How do I even bring up something like that? I don’t know what’s normal for the Water Tribe, because the men have been off for war since I was too young to know what love was._

_I’m not sure what the Fire Nation traditions are on this. But I trust you and I know you wouldn’t ostracize me on something like this. I could use some advice, Zuko. I’m feeling a little confused about all this._

_I went fishing last night when the sun was setting. The sky was bright reds and pinks on one side, and pitch black twinkling with stars on the other. I thought it was really pretty. Next time you visit, I’ll take you on the boat and we can look at the sky at sunset._

_I miss you (for some reason),_

_Sokka_

\---

The Arctic cold swipes at Zuko’s neck and he shivers. The snow crackles under his feet as he shifts in place and tries to get warm. “It’s too cold here,” he tells Sokka. “It’s not meant for firebenders.” 

Sokka waves his hand at him, busy fixing a lantern to the front of the boat. “Your days in the palace have turned you sensitive.” He looks over his shoulder and grins and suddenly Zuko doesn’t feel so cold. “What happened to the person who swam through freezing water to get to the Northern Water Tribe?”

Another gust of wind pierces right through the blue coat Zuko’s borrowing from Sokka and he shivers again. “He realized that he doesn’t need to do crazy shit like that anymore.”

Sokka rolls his eyes and then reaches into the boat to pull out a thick blue blanket. “Here,” he says, tossing it to Zuko. “Can’t have you turning into a popsicle before you see the sunset.”

“Thanks,” he says softly, wrapping the blue cloth around his shoulders. He buries his nose into the fuzzy interior and when he inhales, he realizes it smells an awful lot like Sokka. He looks up to smile at the Water Tribe man, who is looking at him with red ears and a curious expression on his face. “What?”

Sokka jolts like he's been woken from a dream. “Just thinking about how good it is to get payback. Now you know how I feel when I’m sweating during Fire Nation summers.” He steps into the boat and offers a hand out to Zuko. “Come on. The sky won’t wait for us.”

Zuko reaches out a gloved hand to grasp Sokka’s and lets himself be pulled into the small boat. 

He sits himself down on a bench as Sokka grasps an oar and starts to steer them away from the icy dock into open waters. It’s colder on the water, but he has Sokka’s furs and the lantern and Sokka is so focused on his work that there’s a little, endearing furrow between his eyebrows. Zuko catches himself flushing. 

“Would be nice to have Katara around,” he says as Sokka drags the paddle through the water, navigating carefully around blocks of ice. 

Sokka hums. “Yeah,” he says. “But it’s kind of peaceful to do it myself. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad would take me out on the boat and teach me how to fish.”

There’s something wistful in his tone and Zuko feels it more than hears it. He wonders what it’s like, to miss moments with a father. Maybe it’s a little bit how he goes to the pond on days when things are especially hard, to watch the turtleducks and think of his mom. 

“You can teach me,” he offers, without thinking (because he never thinks). Sokka stops steering momentarily to raise an eyebrow at him. 

“Teach you how to spear a fish?”

Zuko shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck. His ears burn. “I mean, I taught you how to use dual swords back when we were camping out on Ember Island. I just thought…” 

He didn’t think, though. He never does and now he put himself and Sokka in an uncomfortable position, trying to force himself into a place he didn’t belong. His skin prickles under the furs and wishes he knew how to be good enough. 

“No! No,” Sokka says hurriedly. When Zuko looks up at him, he’s smiling. “That would actually be really cool. We have a while until the sunset and it would probably be better than me fishing and you just sitting there awkwardly.”

Zuko smiles a little. “Okay.” Sokka beams at him, and they fall into a comfortable silence as he guides the boat through icy glaciers. 

“Close your eyes,” he speaks abruptly as they pass behind a particularly large iceberg. 

“What?”

“Just close them!” 

Reluctantly, Zuko shuts his eyes and listens to the sound of the oars stirring through the water, cold wind lifting his hair from the back of his neck. Finally, Sokka calls, “Okay. You can open them now.”

He cracks his eyes open and his breath gets caught in his throat. “Oh,” he exhales, hands clutching the edge of the boat as he leans forward as if the view is something he can get closer to. 

They’ve exited the icy part of the water into the ocean, a large, flat expanse of sea as far as he can see. The ocean stretches into the horizon, where it reflects the blue sky overhead as clearly as if it was a mirror, the clouds drifting lazily in the sky floating by just as slowly in the water below. The sun, starting to dip down the sky, is an orb of gold and orange in the sea. The cold doesn’t feel quite so bad, now, as Zuko inhales the scent of saltwater and ice and _Sokka_ and watches the world in perfect harmony with itself. 

“It’s beautiful,” he whispers, looking up at Sokka only to find he was already looking at him. There’s an expression on his face that Zuko can’t decipher, doesn’t really want to decipher, but it makes him feel comfortable in a way he hasn’t felt in a long time. 

“Yeah,” Sokka breathes, before clearing his throat and looking away. “Anyways, we have a while before the sun sets. Want to fish?”

Zuko nods, and Sokka hands him a spear. It feels weird in his hands, taller and heavier than his dual swords. “C’mere,” Sokka says, and Zuko carefully stands and makes his way to the front of the canoe where Sokka is leaning against the side. He sees the way Zuko holds the spear and immediately starts laughing.

“Okay! I haven’t done this before!” Zuko scowls, but he knows he doesn’t sound nearly as annoyed as he should. 

Sokka just shakes his head, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye, before covering Zuko’s hands with his own. “You hold it like _this_ ,” he instructs, gently adjusting Zuko’s fingers until the spear doesn’t feel quite so unwieldy as it did. His hands linger over Zuko’s for a second more before he pulls them away. “Now show me how you would spear a fish.”

Zuko strikes the blade straight down into the water and then yanks it back up again. Sokka snickers at him.

He glares, and Sokka raises his hands in mock apology. “It wasn’t that bad,” he says and then he’s standing behind Zuko, arms encircling his as he shows him how to position the spear. His heart begins to thud heavily against his chest and it takes every inch of his willpower not to sink into Sokka because he’s _warm_ and somewhere along the years he got taller than Zuko and there’s comfort, there, in his arms. Trust. Zuko feels his cheeks burn. 

_Because I like guys too. I have for a while_.

Why is Zuko thinking about Sokka’s letter _now_? 

“Got it?” Sokka asks, and his breath tickles Zuko’s ear. He nods. The other steps back and Zuko wishes he wouldn’t. Then, a fish is swimming under the water and Zuko pierces the spear down, drawing it back up, a fish caught on the end.

Sokka lets out a cheer, patting Zuko’s back. “Nice!” he crows. “Way more impressive than I expected from a firebender.”

Zuko lets out a huff of laughter, passing the spear and fish over to Sokka. “I would take my swords over a spear any day,” he confesses, sitting back down on the bench. The sun is almost reaching the horizon now, and he finds himself entranced with the way the sky has started to turn pale shades of pink and yellow. Sokka follows his gaze.

“Oh! It’s starting!” He deposits the fish in a net and stores it under the boards. He pulls out a basket, handing it to Zuko. “Open it.”

He opens the basket to find small dumplings tucked away inside. He looks back up at Sokka who is grinning with pride. “Did you make these?” he asks, picking one up. The dough is just perfectly tender, and when Zuko takes a bite he’s greeted with a familiar vegetable and tiger seal mixture. “It’s a Fire Nation dumpling!” he exclaims, mouth still full. 

“Yeah, last time I visited I remembered you said you liked them, so I asked Iroh for the recipe.” Sokka rubs the back of his neck almost embarrassed. “Um, it’s just to say I appreciate you coming down here. You didn’t have to do that.”

_Oh_ . Zuko offers a dumpling to Sokka, who takes it with a grateful smile. “Sokka…” Zuko begins. He clears his throat and tugs at his hair. _Agni he’s bad with words_. “I think you’re my best friend,” he settles on, eyes fixed on the basket in his lap. He doesn’t know what else to say. That he’s one of the first people to make Zuko feel like it was okay to not be in control all the time. One of the first who’s shown Zuko kindness for kindness's sake. That of course he had to come because Sokka had sounded so confused in his last letter and he would drop anything if it meant helping Sokka even a fraction of the way he’s helped him.

Sokka seems to get it. He sits down next to Zuko, the thin boat making them sit so close that their shoulders press flush together. Zuko offers the blanket given to him earlier to Sokka who wraps it around both of them. 

“You’re my best friend too,” Sokka responds, quietly. There’s nothing that needs to be said, so they watch the sun dip below the horizon, leaving fire trails of vivid orange and pink in its wake, reflected perfectly in the ocean in front of them. It reminds Zuko a little of when he met the dragons with Aang, the colored fire they breathed that held all the secrets and knowledge of firebending. 

“Look at the other side,” Sokka murmurs and Zuko turns around to see a deep blue sky fading into black, dotted with the brightest and clearest stars Zuko has _ever_ seen. It’s almost too much to comprehend, the way they stretch across the heavens directly opposite to the fiery tones of the sunset. The ocean is a map of the stars as well, all unformed constellations and heavenly bodies. It’s absolutely stunning.

“It’s kind of like us.” Zuko follows the sky with his eyes, from stars to sun and back again. “You know, water tribe, moon and stars, and then Fire Nation sun?” 

“Huh. I never thought about it that way.” Sokka smiles softly at Zuko. He smiles back.

They watch the sun until it falls behind the horizon, stars becoming brighter and more prominent, sharing the basket of dumplings between them until Zuko feels warm and satiated against Sokka’s arm. But he knows that this trip is more than just fishing and watching the stars. Unlike him, though, Sokka has never had problems finding the words. So he waits.

“Bato and Dad are happy,” Sokka says, finally, just as the sun has completely disappeared and the temperature drops about twenty more degrees. Zuko nods his head as he lights the lantern again with a point of his finger, hoping for some warmth. “They’re making plans for a wedding later in spring. Just a quiet affair with family.”

Zuko nods again. 

“You’ll come, right?”

The question catches Zuko off guard. “I thought it was just family?” he asks, rubbing the back of his neck with cold fingers. He exhaled a small breath of fire, creating enough heat to gain feeling in his fingers again.

“You are family.” Sokka elbows his side gently. “You know this.”

“Oh.” Zuko absently picks at the skin around his fingernails. _Oh_. A giant smile starts to stretch across his face, but he holds it back because right now isn’t about him, it’s about Sokka. Still, he feels kind of warm inside as he settles with the fact that he is family. 

“I’m happy for them,” Sokka begins again. His arm is warm when it brushes against Zuko’s. “I keep trying to tell my dad. About me liking guys. It shouldn’t be that hard, right? I just have to walk up to him and say, Dad, I like guys _and_ girls! It’s a two for one deal!

“But I can’t, for some reason.” Sokka drops his head into his hands. “I just can’t! And I’m not ashamed. I’m not. Our tribe doesn’t have any stigma around it, really, but it’s not something we really talk about either.” Sokka glances over at Zuko. “Do you have any advice?”

“Well, I am known for being good with father-son relationships,” Zuko says drily, eliciting a choked laugh from Sokka. “But, Sokka, from what I know about Chief Hakoda, I know that he would be ecstatic either way. You and Katara, you’re his whole world. Nothing you could say would change that.” He nudges Sokka. “And if he does, you could always run away and live in the palace with me.”

Sokka smiles faintly. “What are the Fire Nation policies on that?” he asks, almost like he’s afraid.

Zuko shrugs. “We’ve never had anything against it. Actually, Fire Lord Sozin had a thing for Avatar Roku back in the days. Our only policy was that, if a man and a man or a woman and a woman were going to adopt a child, it had to be a Fire Nation child. You know, strength in fire and all that.” 

“Huh.” Sokka stares off in the distance and Zuko wonders what he’s thinking. “So it’s… normal there?”

“Yeah.” His throat tightens. “Actually… I like guys and girls too.” It’s not something he’s had to tell anyone before. In the Fire Nation, it was normal. It wasn’t until he was faced with two water tribe members, an air nomad, and someone from the earth kingdom that he started to worry if it was something he should be sharing at all. 

“What?” Sokka hits his arm. “You never told me!”

Zuko shrugs. “I never needed to.”

“Wow.” Sokka laughs softly, hitting Zuko’s arm again (lighter this time). “Look at us.”

“Mm.” Zuko cranes his neck to look up at the sky, the clear night offering an unobstructed view of the heavens. “That constellation looks like a boomerang,” he says, tracing a line of stars with his finger.

“That one looks like you when you tried to grow a beard,” Sokka responds with a laugh. Zuko rolls his eyes and points out another one until they fall into a familiar habit of tracing the skies and finding patterns meant only for their own eyes. It’s late when Sokka finally steers the boat back to the tribe, and it’s even later when they trip over each other’s feet sneaking back into Sokka’s igloo without anyone noticing. It’s much later when they’re finally laying down, shoulder to shoulder, and Sokka presses a kiss to Zuko’s cheek so light that he could have imagined it. “Thank you,” he whispers, before rolling over and falling asleep.

It is later still as Zuko stares at the ceiling of the igloo, cheek burning from the contact. It’s later when he thinks about the evening, the flushing in his face and the contentment in the pit of his stomach and realizes it’s not just because of the food or the friendship. It’s because of some feeling, something deeper than he’s ever felt. It’s later when Zuko realizes that he’s been set afloat on a sea of stars with only Sokka to keep him anchored. _Oh no,_ he thinks, as he looks at the man sleeping next to him. 

_Oh no._

\---- 

_Sokka,_

_I wasn’t sure how to start this letter. Uncle told me, once, that sharing wasn’t something that has ever come easy to me and it might never be easy, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do it. He told me that I shouldn’t keep everything pressed down where it builds until I blow. I’ve gotten better, thanks to you, but it’s still really hard, so I’m trying, because things have been really bad and I feel as though I’m losing my grasp on the life around me._

_Each day goes by and I feel duller and duller. I don’t sleep anymore, really. The thought of eating makes me nauseous and my hands shake whenever I firebend. There was an attack, a few weeks ago. An assassin, one of Ozai’s supporters, and I’m trying to pretend that it hasn’t affected me but it_ has. _I’m always looking over my shoulder, I’m always second-guessing myself, and I hate it, I hate that I’m not a good enough Fire Lord. Why did I ever think I could do this?_

_Please, do not worry over this message. I’m just trying to share because I’m afraid if I don’t I might drown under the weight of it all. In fact, you can ignore it entirely. Knowing it was sent is enough for me._

_The stars are nice tonight, as I write this. It makes me think, and hope, that wherever you are, you’re looking at them too. These nights that I can’t sleep, I’ve been making new constellations to show you when I see you next._

_Zuko_

It’s another sleepless night as Zuko sits in his bed, watching as the shadows across his floor dance with the way the clouds intermittently cover the moon. He’s _exhausted_ , lips bitten raw and fingernails chewed down to the skin, but every time he closes his eyes he hears noises in the corners of his room, he sees assassins in every shadow, and he hears reminders. Constant reminders that this wouldn’t be happening if he was a better Fire Lord. 

He had sent a letter to Sokka on a whim, on a desperate night where he felt trapped and his skin was crawling and he had needed to get out everything that was building up inside him for fear that it was going to tear him apart. Now, he wonders if he should have sent it at all. He misses Sokka, of course he does, but there’s an inescapable guilt he feels at the thought of dragging someone else into the problems he’s created for himself. 

There’s also the matter of the way Sokka’s name garners a warm feeling in his stomach, almost enough for him to ignore the way his stomach is twisting itself into knots. 

They haven’t talked about the kiss and Zuko thinks he’s making too big a deal of it. It was just a kiss on the cheek, something friends would do. He’s always known that the group was more affectionate than he was, so really it shouldn’t be this surprising to him that Sokka would kiss him on the cheek. But, sometimes, he’ll find himself touching his fingers to the skin there and wondering if it meant anything more. 

Because, for some reason, Zuko wants it to mean more. Ever since that night, he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about _Sokka_. He wants to be with him constantly. Even now, when he feels as though he’s being stretched in a million directions and he’s only a ghost of the person he should be, he wants Sokka to come and tell him it’ll be alright. 

That’s why he sent the letter.

_Selfish_ . He bites at the skin around his nails as he looks at the moon. Sokka likely doesn’t want anything more. And even if he did, Zuko knows with a deep certainty that he’s too much of a disaster, too much of a liability, to ever be good enough for him. He has to promise himself not to let his feelings of _affection_ grow any stronger. 

The thought makes the twisting in his stomach grow stronger and he tastes blood in his mouth. 

A creak in the flooring outside his room has him twisting his hands into the blankets as his blood rushes through his ears in the rhythm of his racing heartbeat. “ _Fuck_ ,” he whispers, dropping his head into his hands because he can’t _do_ this anymore. He can’t be on edge this way, he can’t doubt himself and everyone around him. He can’t pretend like everything is okay.

He doesn’t want to be alone anymore. 

The tears come with no warning, gone one moment and there the next, spilling out of his eyes as he grasps his hair and _sobs_. His chest heaves and he gasps for breath as he fully cries for the first time in years, unable to stop any of it. He cries and cries until he’s shaking and his face is sticky and he realizes that the last time he has felt this afraid was when he was thirteen years old, kneeling in front of his father and begging for mercy.

He takes in shuddering breaths, trying to calm himself but all it does is elicit choked sobs out of him as every anxiety and fear tears its way through him. _Weak_ , he thinks, and this just makes the tears fall harder.

“Zuko?” 

His head snaps up, hands already summoning flames that flicker weakly because he hasn’t been able to firebend properly in days. He lets the flames drop when he sees Sokka standing in the doorway, still holding his bags with a pained expression on his face. “Oh, Zuko,” he breathes and that’s all it takes for Zuko to crumble again. 

“I’m sorry,” he chokes out as he buries his face in his hands because he can’t stop _crying_ and he’s an idiot who made Sokka come all the way out here just to see him fall apart. He feels sick to his stomach with how much he hates himself for this. His chest feels tight and his skin is burning and he doesn’t think he can _breathe_ -

“Zuko, hey.” There is a cool hand resting lightly on the small of his back. “Breathe. Come on. 1, 2, 3, 4. Good, now hold it.”

Zuko follows Sokka’s counting, forcing breaths of air into his lungs until his heart calms down and his chest loosens and all that is left is a hollow feeling in his stomach and drying tears on his face. 

He lifts his head up from his hands, blinking the last tears out of his eyes, to see Sokka sitting next to him. He still has a hand on his back and there’s an expression on his face that just makes Zuko feel even more guilty. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles, clearing his throat. “God, this is so stupid.”

“Don’t be sorry.” Sokka’s hands work their way through hair, gently untangling the knots that have appeared after a week of neglect. “Zuko, can I…?” He gestures vaguely with his hands and Zuko has no idea what he means but he _trusts_ him in a way that he’s never really trusted anyone before, so he nods silently.

Sokka pulls him forward until Zuko’s head is resting in the crook of Sokka’s neck and his hands tangle themselves in the fabric of Sokka’s shirt while Sokka wraps his arms around him and holds him tight. It takes a second for Zuko to notice, under his own shaking, that Sokka is trembling,

“Sokka? What’s wrong?” He goes to pull back, to search his face, but Sokka just holds tighter.

“I almost lost you,” Sokka whispers, voice hoarse and scratchy. “Fuck. I’m sorry, this isn’t about me. But I almost _lost_ you, Zuko.” Sokka’s fingers tighten in their hold on Zuko’s sleeping tunic. Zuko feels like he’s sixteen years old again, clinging to his friends at the end of a hundred year war because they all made it out alive and that’s what mattered most to him. “I can’t lose you.”

“I’m sorry,” he says again into the cloth of Sokka’s shirt. It’s thin and Zuko can feel how cool his skin is underneath. 

“No. Don’t apologize.” Sokka pulls back, just a little, so they can look each other in the eye. “I want to be here more than anything.” Sokka’s eyes are wide and a little watery, and there’s a sadness there that Zuko’s fairly certain is reflected in his own eyes. “Do you want to talk?”

Does he want to talk? His first instinct is to say no, is to push it away for another time, but then he thinks about how he’s exhausted in a way that goes bone-deep. He thinks about how every night he falls asleep only to wake up minutes later with his heart pounding and a sense of dread in his veins. He thinks about how alone he’s felt, having to pretend as though everything’s okay because he can’t afford to do anything to make his people doubt their Fire Lord. “Yeah,” he whispers, throat dry. “Okay.”

They talk in quiet voices. Zuko tells Sokka everything, he tells him about the assassin, his fears, his worry that he is not and will never be good enough. Sokka holds his hand and tells him that Zuko has always been more than enough for him. They talk and talk, stupid jokes and serious words in a perfect balance.

It’s almost light out when they stop talking and they drift off with Zuko’s head tucked under Sokka’s chin, a loose arm dangling across his waist, and Zuko has forgotten that he promised himself not to fall any deeper. 

\----

They exchange letters constantly until it is the day of Zuko’s 25th birthday and he has a drawer full of pages with scrawling handwriting carefully pressed together. Some are bound by twine, others folded gently and tucked away. Others are worn from the times he has picked them and skimmed his fingers over the paper, trying to imagine Sokka’s face as he had written them. Had he been laughing? Frowning? Had he thought of Zuko the same way Zuko thinks of him?

_Of course he hasn’t_ , Zuko reprimands himself as he fixes his ceremonial robes. _Don’t be stupid_. They are best friends, and to try for anything more would just end up poorly for both of them. Zuko is fairly certain he isn’t meant for that kind of love, anyways, so he contents himself with reading Sokka’s words over and over again and pretending that the “love, Sokka” the letters are signed with is something he can have. 

“My lord?’ One of the staff members is standing in the doorway of his dressing room. “The party is beginning.”

Zuko sighs imperceptibly, adjusting the sleeves of his robe once more. “I’ll be there in a moment, Fai,” he says, offering a smile. The staff bows and retreats and Zuko is left alone with his mirror and a feeling that he _really_ doesn’t want to go out to a party.

It’s his twenty-fifth birthday, and the whole nation is celebrating. There are dances and festivals, lanterns glowing in the streets of the city, and Zuko can barely wrap his head around the fact that all these people are celebrating _him_. 

His friends had sent him letters and said that they, unfortunately, couldn’t make it to the celebrations tonight. Aang and Katara were caught in the Earth Kingdom over some city realignments, Toph was too busy at her earthbending academy to take time off, and Sokka was swamped with developments for the Southern Water Tribe. Zuko doesn’t blame them at all. He can’t expect them to drop their tasks and come up for something as simple as a birthday, but he can’t help but wish that he didn’t have to spend hours accepting birthday wishes and thinly veiled hints as to what he could be doing better.

Besides, it’s probably best if Sokka isn’t here. Zuko isn’t sure he can handle the way his heart thrums through his entire body when he sees him. 

With one last look in the mirror, Zuko begins to make his way to the palace entrance and prepares himself to plaster on a smile and pretend like he wants to be there. His guards follow him out to the palace steps overlooking the square beyond where he pauses and lets the messenger announce his presence which is followed by cheers and applause as Zuko bows low.All the ceremony is routine, now, to the point where Zuko doesn’t have to think about what he’s doing. 

_Maybe I can stick around for an hour and then sneak into the city,_ he thinks as he makes his way down the steps, greeting the people he sees on autopilot. _Or maybe I can go back to my room_. 

“Fire Lord Zuko,” a gravelly voice speaks. “What, three months, and all you can say is ‘nice to see you’?”

“Uncle!” Zuko snaps back to the present as a (real) grin stretches across his face and he lets Iroh gather him in a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you,” he says into his Uncle’s shoulder.

Uncle laughs and pulls away, keeping his hands on Zuko’s shoulders. “Look at you,” he says. “Twenty-five.”

The importance of this milestone, of each one since his 13th birthday, is one that only they can know. Only Uncle was there when Zuko was young and angry, throwing himself in dangerous situations without any regard for his life. He was the one there when Zuko said, one night, that he thought he wasn’t going to make it to his seventeenth birthday. Now, he has been here for every birthday since then, and they always take a moment, just for themselves, to think about that achievement.

“Who would have thought.” Zuko laughs, softly. Uncle just shakes his head.

“I did.”

He feels warm in his chest, in a really, really, good way. “I wish the others could be here too,” he says, trying to divert the attention from him. 

Uncle’s eyes twinkle. “Speaking of that….”

Without any warning, something barrels straight into Zuko’s back, sending him stumbling forward. “What the-” he mutters.

“Happy birthday Hotman!” the mass on his back cheers and Zuko knows that voice. He starts smiling immediately as the person on his back lets go. 

“Aang!” He turns around to see Aang standing there, Katara, Sokka, and Toph a couple of yards away jogging to catch up. “Katara, Sokka, Toph. I thought you all couldn’t make it?”

“You really think we were going to miss your birthday, Sparky?” Toph gives him a crooked smile. “More importantly, do you really think we were going to miss a party?”

He lets Katara pull him into a hug and when he draws back he sees the necklace at her throat. “Is that… _Agni_. Are you- oh my-” he stutters as Katara touches her fingers to the blue pendant with an air nomad symbol and laughs. 

“I was going to tell you tonight,” she says. “But, yeah. Aang and I are-” 

“We’re engaged!” Aang exclaims, using one arm to pull Katara closer. 

Zuko can’t stop smiling, even amidst his complete shock. “Wow! That’s amazing! Congratulations, you guys!” He pulls both of them into a hug as his heart bursts with pride because Aang is probably his best friend (after Sokka) and Katara and him have come so far. He can hardly believe it. 

“You better come to the wedding,” Toph tells him. “Even I’m coming, and my feet can’t see _anything_ on all that ice.”

“Of course I’ll come.” Zuko bows low to his friends. “Thank you all so much for coming.” It means a lot to him, really, so much that he can’t really vocalize it.

Sokka laughs and it has Zuko looking, for the first time, at the Water Tribe man. He looks good, in blue robes and a dagger resting on the belt at his hip. The front of his hair is braided with beads and thread and he’s staring at Zuko with the softest look on his face. It makes his stomach thrum with a mixture of pleasant excitement and unpleasant anticipation. _I can’t do this_ , he thinks. _We’re just friends_. “Did you really think we would miss your party?” he asks, interrupting Zuko’s train of thought. 

“It’s good to see you,” Zuko says, in lieu of an answer, and Sokka laughs again before using one arm to pull Zuko into a tight hug. His arms are strong and corded with muscle and he smells like the sea and like _Sokka_. Zuko closes his eyes and lets him have this, just for a moment. 

“What are we waiting for?” Aang asks as they pull apart. “Let’s go dance!”

Aang is pulling him into the middle of the square with a firm grasp on his wrist and Sokka’s arm is still around his shoulders as they make their way through the crowds. He glances back at Uncle to see he is looking after them with a fond smile that makes Zuko feel content. 

“Let’s do the Dragon Dance,” Aang insists and it makes Zuko laugh at how much adult Aang is just like kid Aang, and how happy he is that he hasn’t really changed. They go through the movements as kids flock towards them, copying their moves and running around. Eventually, Aang pulls Katara into a dance and Zuko makes his way to where Sokka is standing on the sidelines, smiling and slightly out of breath. 

“Where’s Toph?” he asks, gratefully taking the cup of sake that Sokka offers him.

“Some kids challenged her to an earthbending competition,” Sokka tells him. “Those poor kids don’t know what they’re in for.”

Zuko laughs and drinks from the cup, letting it warm him up. Sokka looks at him, for a second, and then leans in until his breath grazes Zuko’s ear and Zuko finds goosebumps traveling up and down his spine. “Will you come with me?” he asks. Zuko nods. 

He follows Sokka away from the crowd, away from the square, and back into the palace. He waves away the guards who discreetly try to follow them because if he can’t trust Sokka, he can’t really trust anyone. They’re silent as Sokka leads him up a familiar set of staircases, leaving Zuko to wonder why they’re going to the roof _now._

When they reach the window, Sokka offers his hand to Zuko just like he did the first time and every time after that. Zuko takes it and lets himself be pulled out into the warm night sky. From the roof he can see the party below, he can faintly hear the music playing, and he can see the stars shining at them from the night sky. 

He settles himself down next to Sokka. They’re close enough that if Zuko were to lean slightly to his right, they would be touching. He stops himself.

“Hey,” Sokka says, turning his head to look at Zuko.

“Hey,” he says back.

Sokka reaches into the bag hanging off of his shoulder. “I got you something.” He pulls out a small box, a piece of paper taped to the front of it. 

“You didn’t have to-”

“Don’t be a jerk.” Sokka nudges him. “Open the box first.” 

His heart pounds in his chest as he opens the box, eyes widening as he sees the item inside. “Is this…”

Sokka shakes his head. “Read the letter first. Please.”

He’s so uncharacteristically serious that Zuko finds himself listening. He tucks the box away and peels the letter off from the top and with barely shaking hands he unfolds it and reads.

_Zuko,_

_Happy birthday, jerk! Twenty-five, that’s a big one. Well, maybe not in any big, meaningful, way, but isn’t each birthday a big one, even if just for the fact that you are_ alive _?_

_I know you’re wondering why I gifted you a saber whale tooth. In the Water Tribe, we have a custom, where when a man finds himself falling for someone, he must get this tooth and carve into it, and present it to the one he feels for._

_It was two months ago when I decided I would go hunting to get the tooth. If you’re paying attention (I know you have trouble sometimes, don’t worry it’s okay, I can be the brains of the operation) you would know that this isn't really a normal gift. If you look closely, it is carved with stars and two constellations: the Water Tribe symbol and the Fire Nation symbol. It’s the first two that we found with each other, five years ago._

_You have been my best friend for years, Zuko. I’m not entirely sure when it evolved into something more, but I know at some point, somewhere along the visits and letters, I realized that all I wanted, the only person I wanted, was you. You are my favorite person. I’ve saved every one of your letters and every memory is kept in my mind forever. There is no one I would rather spend every day with, no one who knows me inside and out._

_So, Zuko. Please tell me the feelings are reciprocated._

_I think we could be pretty great._

_What about you?_

_Love,_

_Sokka_

The paper flutters in the breeze, bending in his grasp. Zuko feels as though the world is crashing around him because he told himself that this would all be okay, he could do this, as long as they remained as _friends_. The box in his lap feels heavy as he thinks about what is inside and what exactly it means.

“Why did you write the first letter?” he asks, and his voice is so quiet it comes out nothing more than a scratchy whisper.

“I missed you.” Sokka is so earnest, so honest. Zuko can’t take it.

It hits him, then, that this isn’t something that is tucked away into pages that Zuko can hold close to his chest late at night. It’s not something he can think about during dull meetings as he crafts his next response in his head. 

This is real. 

Painfully, tangibly, real. 

Sokka is next to him, an offering in the space between them, and Zuko feels _suffocated._ He feels trapped in the realization that he can’t do this because on paper he can put forth only the parts of himself that he wants Sokka to see but in real life he is bared. There is nothing to hide the parts of him he is still ashamed of, no way to hide that thunderstorms leave him trembling and clutching onto his pillow as he waits for it to pass. No way to hide that he is a _failure_ who hasn’t done nearly enough as a Fire Lord. 

More than that, he’s afraid. He’s afraid that once Sokka sees all of him he would want to _leave_. He would leave and Zuko would lose the best friend he’s ever had. 

There’s nowhere to hide. 

So he stands up and presses the box back into Sokka’s hands and Sokka’s smile falls. 

“I’m sorry,” he says and his voice sounds far away. “I don’t think we can do this.”

“Zuko,” Sokka begins, taking a step forward but Zuko shakes his head and retreats again.

“We can’t.” His throat feels tight and he feels cold, so he holds his robe tighter around him as he backs away from Sokka and towards the window. “I’m sorry.”

He turns and leaves before he has to see the look on Sokka’s face.

\---

It is a week after the party and Zuko can’t sleep.

The guilt and hollowness in his stomach weigh him down each day as he makes his way through his tasks in a daze. The thought of being with Sokka had made him _scared_. It was something he undoubtedly wanted to avoid. 

But now that he avoided it, why did he feel like _this_?

He thinks that, now, he’s ruined everything. He thinks that’s what he always does, and it was inevitable anyways. _Better sooner than later_ , he thinks bitterly, as he stares at the letters pressed into his desk, ignoring the way nausea crawls in his throat at how he’s ruined the best thing in his life. 

Because, the fact is, he loves Sokka. He loves him with a burning certainty that fills him with flame from the inside out and consumes him entirely. He loves him, and that’s why he can’t let Sokka love him back. How could he let Sokka settle for _him_ when he was a mess at best, destined to be a burden to those who _really_ know him? 

One night, he takes a piece of parchment and a pen and sits at his desk. _I love you_ , he writes over and over again. He scratches it out. Writes it again. Until the page is a mess of ink marks and barely concealed _I love you I love you I love you_. 

He burns the paper.

\---

Uncle visits the palace on the fifteenth day. When Zuko asks why he’s here, Uncle just responds that he’s taking a break from the tea shop to come up with new ideas. It’s an obvious lie, and it just makes Zuko feel worse. 

Iroh makes him eat at dinner, claiming that he’s been getting too skinny. He draws him away from his desk at night and forces him into his bed, saying that he needs rest. Little does he know that Zuko lays awake every night, wondering if he will ever get better at any of this. 

It is one night, at dinner, when Zuko is so driven by nights of no sleep and a pang of deep sadness that he sits next to Uncle at dinner and tells him everything.

“This is what I wanted,” he whispers, drawing his knees to his chest, food untouched in front of him. “But why does it feel so _bad_?”

Uncle is quiet, before speaking quietly. “Zuko, are you sure this is what _you_ want?”

“Of course it is,” he says automatically. “I can’t let Sokka do this. He deserves better.”

“The funny thing is that we often don’t know what others deserve.” Iroh places his chopsticks down at the table. “Often, when we claim another deserves better, it is because we are scared of something ourselves. We hide behind the ruse of pretending to know what another deserves instead of thinking as to why we are pushing them away.” He rests a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “So I think it is time to think about what you want.” 

Zuko rests his chin on his knees, letting his hair fall into his face. His chest feels tight and his stomach twists. “I love him,” he chokes out around the squeezing in his throat. “I do. I just don’t know how to let this happen.” 

“If you love him, it will happen. You need to be kind to yourself, Zuko. Be kind to yourself and to him. If you love him, it is worth trying for.” 

“I think I messed it all up,” Zuko says suddenly, out loud for the first time. “He’s my best friend, and I messed it up.”

His eyes start to fill with tears and he lets Uncle pull him into a tight hug. 

“If you love him, you will find a way,” Uncle whispers in his ear, and Zuko starts to understand. 

\---

_Zuko,_

_I won’t pretend to understand what occurred that night. I have spent sleepless nights trying to piece together what it was that I said, what I did, that would make you push me away like that. Did I imagine our letters? I thought it wasn’t just me, that it couldn’t be just me, who felt that way. I thought we saw each other. You have let yourself grow so much from who you were, so I guess I don’t understand why you won’t let yourself be happy._

_But I have spent a lot of time speculating, with no result, so that is not what this letter is. This letter is a confession._

_I fear we have not been transparent enough with each other. I fear that we have hidden behind the pretense of letters, saying they were just communications, ways to ensure the Fire Nation and Water Tribes were upholding accords. These have never been about the accords, Zuko, and we both know that._

_When we were kids, fighting in a war much too large for us, I never even considered this possibility. For me, it was making out of it alive, with everyone I loved still alive. You were someone I loved back then, and you are someone I love now. Nothing has changed that. Not the years, and not that night at your birthday celebration. I love making you laugh, I love seeing you relax, I love making sure you don’t take yourself too seriously. I love the way kids just gravitate to you and you secretly love it. I love the way your mouth turns up at the corners when you think I’m not looking._

_Sometimes I think you are the sun, and I am a wayward planet that is constantly drawn into your surface by the pull of gravity, a force I cannot escape even if it should burn me away. I long for you like the tides yearn for the moon despite the miles between them._

_In the Water Tribe, we have a story about souls. We believe that the ocean and moon spirits were one spirit that was split into two in order to balance and complement each other, always circling one another in harmony. We believe each human soul was divided in the same fashion, and we are destined to wander the earth until we can find the one whose soul we share. It is believed that the stars are spirits immortalized in the heavens, designed to lead us to our other half the same way they led the ocean spirit to the moon. I’ve charted the stars for years, and they’ve always led me back to you._

_I hope they will lead you back to me too._

_Forever,_

_Sokka_

Zuko gets the letter on the 23rd day. He holds it in his hand so tightly it threatens to rip. He smooths out the wrinkles and stares at the page again and again. He reads the letter. He thinks about Sokka.

He thinks about Sokka pulling him onto the roof to look at the stars, reminding him that there is more than losing yourself to work. He thinks about Sokka’s broad shoulders as his arms encircle him, teaching him how to spear a fish as the ocean and sky paint itself a masterpiece just for them. He thinks about Sokka holding him to fall asleep and reminding him that he deserves to be happy.

He thinks and he finally understands.

\---

The Southern Water Tribe is cold, as always, and the freezing air blows straight through Zuko’s Fire Nation robes which were built for letting the heat out, not keeping it in. His ship docks at one of the newly constructed ports and he disembarks, the paper in his pocket crinkling with his every step.

“Firelord Zuko,” Hakoda calls from the port, arms open and smile wide. “Welcome!”

“Chief Hakoda,” Zuko responds, bowing low. “Thank you for accommodating me on such short notice.”

Hakoda clasps his forearm in a Water Tribe handshake. “It is my honor. I assume you’re looking for Sokka?"

“Actually, before that, I was wondering if I could have your help in setting a couple of things up?” Zuko rubs the back of his neck nervously. “I need a boat.”

“A boat?” Hokoda squints at him. “Well, we have plenty of those. Here, follow me. I’ll get you set up.”

They spend the afternoon working, pulling a boat to the eastern port, away from the bigger ships. Zuko places a couple of furs inside, tying a lantern to the front in the way Sokka did all that time ago. The sun is descending in the sky when Zuko treks through the snow back to the city, down familiar icy streets to the house he knows belongs to Sokka. The paper feels heavy in his pocket and his heart thuds like it’s about to beat out of his chest.

It doesn’t matter, though. Zuko knows why he’s here and he’s not leaving without doing it.

He’s not leaving without finally letting himself do this. 

He raises his hand and knocks on the door.

It only takes a few seconds before it cracks open. “I told you. Dad, I don’t want to go fishing with you and Bato you guys are gross-” Sokka trails off when he sees who is standing in the doorway. His mouth falls open slightly and Zuko tries not to let himself get overwhelmed by emotion. _You messed up,_ he tells himself. _You’re here to fix it._

“Hi, Sokka,” he says.

“Zuko.” Sokka pushes his hair back with a hand, face drawn tight. There are dark circles under his eyes and Zuko feels incredibly guilty. “What are you doing here?”

“Will you come with me?’ he blurts out before he can lose his nerve. “Please?” 

Sokka looks taken aback for a second before his face smooths over. It’s guarded in a way that he hasn’t been around Zuko for years. It makes his chest feel tight. “Fine,” he says. He narrows his eyes at Zuko. “Is that robe all you brought?”

Zuko looks down at his thin red robe. “The one you gave me last time is too small now,” he responds. 

Sokka mutters something under his breath that Zuko can’t make it out. “Give me a minute.” He closes the door, leaving Zuko to hold his fingers to his mouth and exhale hot air to warm them up. True to his word, one minute later Sokka reemerges from his house, this time wearing a thick blue coat and leather boots, another bundle of blue fur tucked over his arm. 

“Here.” He shoves the fabric on his arm at Zuko, who unfolds the jacket and wraps it around himself gratefully. 

“Thank you.”

Sokka just shrugs and rocks back on the balls of his feet. 

Zuko tucks his fingers in the pocket of the jacket and motions with his head for Sokka to follow him. They walk in silence, tense this time, down towards the docks where the boat waits for them. Zuko digs his fingernails into his palm in the pocket and tries not to overthink anything. He has to say what he needs to. He has to do what he came here to do. Anything after that is up to Sokka.

The uncertainty scares him, but Zuko is done with letting fear rule his life.

Sokka raises an eyebrow when he sees the boat. “You dragged me out here to steer the boat?” he asks. Zuko shakes his head. 

“I learned how to steer it,” Zuko says, placing the bag gently in the bottom of the boat and grabbing the oar. “Your dad taught me. Let me take you somewhere. Please.”

A look of surprise flits across Sokka’s face for a second before he holds his hands up in surrender and climbs in the boat. The sky is beginning to turn a painting of pinks and oranges, faintly intermingled with blue, so Zuko steps in the boat, unties it from the dock, and begins to navigate them through icy waters away from the village. 

They’re quiet again, for a while. There’s nothing but the gently lapping of waves and the oar pulling through the water. It reminds Zuko of that night years ago, the night he realized he was in love with his best friend. 

He steers them all the way into open waters in silence, attention fully captivated at the task. When he gets past the ice, the sky is starting to darken and the sun is a brilliant red on one side. He sets the oar down and sits across from Sokka. The letter in his robes seems to call at him as he thinks that this might be one of the hardest things he’s had to do. 

“Aren’t your fingers cold?” Sokka asks, breaking the silence. 

Zuko looks down at his hands and realizes for the first time that his fingers are stiff and frozen, turning shades of pink in the cold. 

“You never think,” Sokka mutters before reaching out and grabbing his hands, rubbing gentle circles against his fingers until the feeling starts to return. Zuko wonders if he can feel how hard his heart is beating, all the way in his fingertips. He wonders if he knows why he’s here. 

He draws his hands back after a minute, finding the pocket in his robes. “Sokka,” he says as he slips his hand inside the material. “I came here to talk to you.”

Sokka’s face falls, a little, and it’s a testament to how well they know each other that Zuko catches it. He wonders if he misstepped somewhere. Read the letter wrong. 

_No_ , he thinks. _He said he loves you. Now it’s your turn._

“Zuko, you didn’t have to bring me all the way out here for this,” Sokka says, finally. 

“What?”

“You didn’t have to bring me out here to say that you’re not interested. You could have just sent a letter.” Sokka is studying his hands instead of looking at Zuko. 

Zuko doesn’t really believe what he’s hearing. 

“Look,” Zuko begins. He stops, takes a breath, and pulls the letter out of his bag. “Can you please read this?”

Sokka just stares at him, and then the roll of parchment in his hands. “ _Please_ ,” Zuko repeats. Sokka takes the scroll. 

Zuko knows the letter well. He spent hours agonizing over how to write it, only for it all to come spilling out once he put his brush to the page. It’s messy and raw but so is Zuko and he knows, now, that it’s okay. 

_Sokka,_

_You told me a Water Tribe story, so now I want to tell you one of our stories. A Fire Nation story._

_It’s about the original dragons: Agni and Sika, the original firebenders, our patron spirits. They were two, intertwined in a way no humans could really understand. They created flame together and give it up to the Sun Warriors to create the first Firebenders. There were people, though, who were jealous of the dragon’s fire. They hunted them down, desperate to steal their fire. Sika heard of these plans from the Sun Warriors, who pleaded for the two spirits to leave. Sika knew that if both were to leave, they would be hunted down until they were captured or destroyed, so it made a decision. It would lead the hunters away from Agni so that Agni may survive even if Sika should die._

_The hunters found and killed Sika and presumed that was the end. It wasn’t the end. Agni lived on, soul torn in two with the knowledge that its other half was no longer in the world. With the knowledge that the one it loved had sacrificed itself._

_It’s a sad story. My mother told it to me when I was younger and I remember thinking, with all the indignation in the world, how could Sika leave Agni like that? How could they separate, when they were destined to be each other’s halves? I didn’t understand until I started to fall in love with you._

_I think I might have been in love with you since the first letter. I didn’t realize it, though, until that night in the Southern Water Tribe where we saw the stars and you kissed my cheek and I spent the rest of the night wondering what that meant. It scared me, a lot. It scared me because I am a barely-held together wreck who is still self-destructive sometimes and I didn’t want to drag you down with me. I understood, now, how Sika could leave Agni._

_So I left you._

_I think, now, that I misunderstood the story. Sika left Agni because of the knowledge that it would end badly, and it would be better if one of them survived than the other. It_ knew _there would be no happy outcome. I pretended to know this, I pretended to know that there was no way this could end well, but the truth is, I don’t know. I don’t know what will happen to us if we end up together, I don’t know how it will end. What I do know is that I’ve spent the time after my birthday laying awake at night, not being able to eat, and constantly wondering about you. I know that for me, there is no future without you._

_I have made mistakes. So many. But I want to apologize because the biggest mistake I’ve made recently was pushing you away when all I wanted was to hold you closer._

_I love you. I have loved you for years and you have taught me what it feels like to be loved in return. You illuminated my way home._

_I followed the stars, Sokka. I followed the stars and found myself here._

_Love,_

_Zuko_

He can tell when Sokka finished the letter by the way he looks up, just for a second, and then looks away. Zuko hurries to speak before Sokka can. 

“Among firebenders, we have a way of showing our sincerest apology,” he says, cupping his hands and holding them out in front of him. “It is something we only do for the people we hold closest to our hearts, when we have truly wronged them. I’ve only done it once before, for Uncle when we reunited at the White Lotus camp during the war.”

He gently takes Sokka’s hand until it’s laying cupped on top of his. “It’s a way for firebenders to show they would give up their fire for you. That they are more sorry than anything and would give up their most fundamental attribute for the one they wronged. Fire is life and it connects us all, just as the flame connects the apology to the recipient.” 

Sokka finally looks up, catching Zuko’s gaze, and this time he doesn’t look away. Zuko smiles, softly, and then wills his fire to appear in Sokka’s hand, a small, curling golden flame that beats like a pulse and holds no anger. Sokka gasps, for a second, and Zuko knows he can feel it too. The stars stretch out in the sky above them. 

He wills the fire to curl until it has formed the spiraling Water Tribe symbol, a golden emblem thrumming in their hands. He wills his apology into the flame, wills for Sokka to understand. When he looks at Sokka again, he sees his eyes are shiny. 

After a moment, he lets the flame fade until they’re sat with their hands nestled against each other in the cold arctic night, hearts laid bare in front of them. 

“I was scared,” Zuko speaks first. “I was really scared that it would end and I would be left alone. I didn’t want to lose you.” He turns his hand so it’s holding Sokka’s. “But I love you and I want to be with you for however long life will let us. I want to be yours, if you will have me.”

Sokka stares at him for a second and in that moment, Zuko feels aware of every detail. Of the cold, the stars, the crescent moon. Sokka’s blue eyes, his hair pulled back in a ponytail. The way his jacket smells like him. It is only a moment, and then Sokka is pulling him forward and pressing their lips together. 

The kiss tastes like salt and sea and relief as Zuko lets himself get lost in it all. It’s soft and sweet and they both open up to each other, just a little, giving as much as they get. Sokka reaches a hand to gently support the back of Zuko’s hand, fingers tangling in his hair, and Zuko’s breath stutters as he wraps his arms around the other’s shoulders. Sokka’s cheeks are wet and Zuko thinks his might be too but he knows they are happy and he is not afraid anymore. 

When they pull away, Sokka’s eyes are shining and his cheeks are flushed. “I will have you,” he says, rushed, as though the words are tumbling out of him. “I will have you forever.”

Zuko pulls him forward so they can kiss again and again. “We’ve waited too long,” he murmurs against Sokka’s lips, and the other just laughs and pulls him in for an embrace. 

“I was worried,” Sokka tells him, breath warm against the side of his face. “I was worried I had ruined everything. I was worried I lost you.”

Zuko presses a calloused palm against the side of Sokka’s face. “The constellations led me to you,” he says, simply, and it is enough. 

That night they fall asleep to the rocking of waves and the starry sky above them. When Sokka kisses Zuko’s cheek, Zuko doesn’t lay awake and wonder what it means. He fits himself against Sokka’s side, head pillowed on his chest, and listens to his heartbeat. He forgets about the future and lives in the present, where he is happy and warm. Where he is loved. 

The constellations look down on them, another pair of souls who have finally charted their way to each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> my second avatar fic!! i hope you guys liked it, because it was a lot of fun to write i love these two idiots
> 
> any kind comments and kudos are very much appreciated! i hope all of you are staying safe and healthy.


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